Governor Justice Announces 131 Jobs In Northern Panhandle

3/10/2017

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Governor
Jim Justice announced today that Bidell Gas Compression, a subsidiary
of the Canadian company Total
Energy Services Inc., will base its first U.S. manufacturing operation in
Weirton, West Virginia. The company will repurpose a 100,000 square.foot decommissioned
machine shop to fabricate, sell, lease and service natural gas compression
equipment to customers operating throughout North America and internationally.

Speaking about today’s announcement, Governor
Justice said, “This investment will spur
economic development and diversity in the northern panhandle. The project will
return an existing building to active use and allow production to get off to a
quick start. The operation will employ
around 60 people in highly skilled manufacturing jobs this year and up to 130
by 2019.”

“Our company conducted an extensive search
throughout the northeastern United States,” said
Bidell President Sean Ulmer. “This location in the City of Weirton provided
us with the physical building and land we required, as well as a talented and
available workforce. The support we received from the Commerce Department, the
Hancock County Commissioner’s office and Weirton officials was instrumental in
making our final decision. Without their dedication, patience and creative ideas
throughout this process, we would not have been able to make this happen. We look forward to providing our customers in
the Marcellus and Utica shale plays with locally built, high quality and cost
effective gas compressor packages.”

“It’s through hard work and
partnerships that we continue to move our state forward, creating jobs and
growing our economy,” said Woody Thrasher, West Virginia
Secretary of Commerce. “We thank Bidell for this multimillion dollar
investment and the creation of dozens of new jobs. We are honored by the
company’s confidence in West Virginia’s outstanding business climate, world
class workforce and access to global markets.”

Bidell Gas Compression is a subsidiary
of the Canadian public company Total Energy Services Inc., based in Calgary,
Alberta, which is traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Through various
operating divisions and wholly-owned subsidiaries, Total Energy Services is
involved in contract drilling services (Chinook Drilling), rentals and
transportation services (Total Oilfield Rentals); and the fabrication, sale,
rental and servicing of new and used equipment for both oil and gas
processing (Spectrum Process Systems) and gas compression (Bidell Gas
Compression).

The
West Virginia Development Office and the West Virginia Economic Development Authority
worked with the Business Development Corporation of the Northern Panhandle
(BDC) to purchase the property from Mingo Junction Steelworks, LLC, a division
of Frontier Group of Companies, to make a new home for Bidell Gas Compression. Additional
funding and services to support the company’s employee training activities will
be provided through the Governor's Guaranteed Work Force Program. The Hancock
County Commission, City of Weirton, United States Environmental Protection
Agency and Brooke Hancock Jefferson Regional Planning Commission also provided financial
and technical support to secure Bidell in West Virginia’s northern panhandle.

“Words
cannot express the excitement and anticipation I have regarding the
announcement that Bidell is locating in Hancock County," said Hancock
County Commission President Jeff Davis. "This has truly been a
team effort by all of the parties involved, from the Governor's office to the
local level. The location of Bidell in Hancock County will produce a huge
economic boost, not only in the number of quality jobs being made available,
but also to the local businesses and their ability to provide various support services.
It is a privilege to welcome a company of the caliber of Bidell to Weirton."

“The BDC is excited to welcome Bidell to
the northern panhandle of West Virginia,” said Patrick Ford, Executive
Director of the BDC. “Having an available building was a major asset in
attracting Bidell. Real
estate and building inventory is critical. We have Frontier and ArcelorMittal to thank
for making it possible to respond quickly to Bidell’s interest in wanting to
open up a new manufacturing company in the northeast United States.”

About
the BDC

Formed in 1993 and chartered as a 501-C3
(private, not for profit) organization, the BDC is the designated economic
development organization for Brooke and Hancock counties. The BDC is dedicated
to preserving and creating jobs, encouraging private investment, and reducing
the unemployment rate in the northern panhandle. The BDC gets its support from
the WV Development Office, WV Economic Development Authority, USEDA, USEPA,
Benedum Foundation, private investors, Brooke and Hancock Counties, and the
cities of Beech Bottom, Bethany, Weirton, New Cumberland, and Chester.